Litter-carrier.



H. B. HESTER.

LITTER CARRIER.

APPLICATION nun DEC. 30, 1911. 1

1,039,737. Patented Oct. 1, 19-12.

Inventor Witnesses b 56 Attsrneys H. B. HBSTER.

LITTER CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. so, 1911.

1,039,737. Patented 0011.1,1912.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET z.

Witnesses Inventor fi M 56 j Attorneys HENRY B. HESTER, OF GALESBUBG,ILLINOIS.

LITTER-CARRIER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY B. HESTER, a. citizen of the United States,residing at Galesburg, in the county of Knox and State of Illinois, haveinvented-a new and useful .Litter-Carrier, of which --the-following is aspecification.

This invention relates to hoisting apparatus such as litter carriers,hay loaders, etc., its principal object being to provide a structure ofthis type which may travel alonga supporting cable and which hasimproved means whereby the same can be brou t into engagement with thematerial to be conveyed, there being means for discharging said materialwhen it is desired to drop it.

A further object is to provide apparatus including adjusting meanswhereby the load engaging apparatus'can be raised or lowered as desired.

A further object is to provide apparatus which is simple in constructionand the parts of which will not readily get out of order.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the com bination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within thescope of what is claimed, without de arting from the spirit of theinvention.

11 the accompanying drawings theflpreferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a side elevation of a litter carrier, oneof the positions thereof being shown by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is anenlarged view partly in section and partly in elevation of a portionofthe carrier, and showing the positions of the parts prior ,to closingthe arms upon the load.

ig. 3 is a section on line AB Fig. 2. Fig.

4 is a section on line CD Fig. 1, the supporting cable being removed.ig. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the spring catch usedin connection with the apparatus.

Referrin to the figures by characters of reference designates asupporting cable on which the carrier is adapted to'travel,

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed December 80, 1911.

ed to Patented Oct. 1, 1912. Serial No. 668,725.

said carrier including a top beam 1 having supporting wheels 2 mountedin brackets 3 upstanding from and swiveled upon the end portions of thebeam, these wheels bearing downwardly on the cable E.

Downwardly diverging hangers 4 extend from one end portion of the beamand are reinforced by means of a brace 5. A winding drum or spool 6 isjournaled between the lower portions of these hangers and is adaptberotated'means of a crank 7 or the like, there being pawl and ratchetmechanism 8 for preventing the spool from rotating in one direction. Anadjusting cable 9 is secured at one end to the spool and is adapted tobe wound thereon, the other end of said cable being secured, as at 10,to one end of thebeam 1. Said cable extends over a guide sheave 11suspended from the beam land that portion of the cable between saidsheave and the point of connection, 10, supports a. sheave 12 swiveledupon ..the upper end of a frame 13 suspended therefrom.

-This frame has an enlarged base 14 provided with a central opening 15in which a bar 16 is mounted to slide, said bar having ratchet teeth 17on one face thereof. Anapertured guide strip 18 is secured within theframe and the bar 16 is slidably mountedtherein, said guide stripserving-to support a spring catch 19 of any desired form and whichnormally engages one of'the teeth on the bar 16 so as to prevent the barfrom moving downwardly. .A releasing cord 20 may be connected to thespring catc'h so that, by on the cord, this catch may be withdrawn fromengagement with the bar 16. A spring 21 is secured at its lower end tothe base 14 at its upper end to the upper portion of the bar 16. 1 Whenthe bar is raised upw'ardly to its greatest extent, this spring 21 iselongated.

A bail 22 is pivotall y connected to the lower portion of frame 13 and alever 23 is pivotally-connected thereto and has a beveled end 24 adaptedto engage the toothed face of the bar 16. Thus it will be seen that, bybringing said endinto engagement with the bar 16 and oscillating barwill be elevated so that its teeth will slip past the catch 19. It willbe apparent pulling the lever, said toward each other,

charge.

that by oscillating lever23 several times the bar 16 will be shiftedlongitudinally to its uppermost position, spring 21 being at the sametime elongated. i

" A block 25 is secured to the lower end of the bar 16 and pivotallyconnected to the sides of this block are curved arms 26 each of which isprovided, at its free end, with a fork 27. Links 28 connect the sides ofthe base 14 to the arms 26 at intermediate points so that, when bar 16is pushed downwardly, these links will support the arms 26 and cause theforkedends 27 thereof to. move laterally and upwardly away from eachother. When, however, thebar 16 is moved upwardly relative to the frame13, the forked ends 27 of the arms 26 will be moved downwardly towardeach other.

Assuming that the arms 26 are in the po-' sitions shown in full lines inFigs. '1 and 2 and it is desired to engage litter and convey it to somepoint for use, the carriage made up of the beam 1 and the partsconnected thereto is shifted to a point above the litter after which thecable 9 is unwound from spool 6 so asto lower'the the arms 26 have beenbrought close to the litter, the bar 16 is shifted upwardly into frame13 by means of lever 23, the spring catch 19 serving to prevent the barfrom moving downwardly elongated s ring 21. released it alls downwardlyout, of engag ment with the toothed bar 16 and is supported the base 14as indicated in full ines in Fig. ment of'bar 16, arms 26 swingdownwardly the forks 27 en aging and passing under the litter. As preerably four'of these'arms and forks are employed it will be apparent thelitter will be firmly engaged thereby. The frame 13 and the load carriedthereby can now be raised by winding cable 9 on spool 6 after which thecarriage can be shifted to the point of dis- P m h ne this P int t e prator pulls on the cord 20. Catch 19 is therefore disengaged from thetoothed bar 16 and as the spring 21 is thus released, it shifts the bardownwardly, relative to the 'frame 13 and causes the arms 26 to swinglaterally and upwardly, thereby releasing the load antvlvpermitting itto fall.

ile the structure herein described has been described as a littercarrier. it is to be understood that the same can be used etgially aswell for variousother urposes sue for example, for loading an unloadingsand, coal, grain, hay and straw, etc., and for use in excavatin itmerely being necessary to change the orks-27 for any other suitableimplements such as shovel blades, bucket sections or the like. Theseapplications of the structure appear so bvious that it is not frame 13When under the action of the As soon as lever 23 is 1. During the upwardmove other into load engaging the fact that the operation of thestructures will remain the same as has been heretoforedescribed.

' While the structure is preferabl used in connection with a supportingcab e E, the same can, if preferred, be used in combinaa tion with anordinary derrick in lieu of the cable E as a supporting means.

What is claimed is 1. A device ofthe class described, including a frame,means for raising the same, a load gripping element, means mounted. onthe frame for'raising and lowering said element relative to the frame,manually operated means separate from said raising means for shiftingsaid element into load engaging position, means for releasing the loadgrip p'ng members, and spring means for auto matically shifting thereleased element to free the load engaged by the element.

' 2. A device of the cla described, including a s'eries of load grippingelements,means for raising and lowering the same, spring means forholdingsaid elements normally spread apart,manually operated meansseparate fromsaid raising means for shifting the elements to loadengaging positiommeans for holding said elements in such position, saidspring means servi to automatically shift said elements to their initialpositions when released.

3. A device of the class described including load engaging membersmovably mounted, manual y operatedmeans for shifting said members towardeach other to engage and hold a load, *means for lockin sa d members inh lding position, means or unlockin the members, and means for autolmatica ly shifting the members away from the loadwhen un ocked.

4. A device of the class described including a movable element, armspivotally connected thereto, a structure adjacent said eleconnectionsbetween the arms and said structure, means operable independently ofsaid raising means for e b one direction to move the arms toward eacposition, means for locking said element against return movement, meansfor releasing said element, and means for automatically shiftin saidarms and element'to their initialpositions when released.

5, A device of the class described including a frame, a toothed barmounted for sliding movement therein, load engaging members pivotallymounted relative to the bar, link connections between said members andth frame, manually o .erated means for shift it in one engaging the barto direction shifting saide ment mi ht 115 ment, means for raising saidstructure, linlr In testimony that I 'clai m the foregoing as my own, Ihave hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY B. HESTER.

Witnesses JOHN W. Soon,

IRENE B. MEADOWS.

